Volkening Heritage Farm goes whole hog in recreating 1880s sausage making
In the 1880s, as Chicago was establishing itself as the "hog butcher for the world," the residents of what is now Schaumburg were butchering their own hogs on family farms.
On Sunday, the Volkening Heritage Farm at Spring Valley offered a glimpse into this world with the event "From Hog House to Smokehouse."
On a day when most people were watching a pigskin get tossed and carried past a line of scrimmage, visitors saw literally how the sausage is made, as the staff and volunteers presented an authentic rendering of the process, including sausage stuffing, meat curing and hog butchering.
In an open area, Andy Farnham tended two smoking kettles, out of one of which peeped a hog's head being cooked for head cheese,
Meanwhile, Patti Johnson, using a sharp knife and salt water, cleaned the small intestines of a pig for the sausage casing. "This would have been a young girl's job on the farm, because their fingers are small and they are able to fit inside this casing to turn it inside out," she said.
In a nearby barn, dressed as an 1880s farmer, Brett Garrett of Batavia, sawed away at a rear leg of a pig, getting it ready to be cured in salt.
As fellow "farmer" Jon Kuester of East Dundee explained, "We have to get it all smooth, so that it can lay in a salt cure. If it has any flaps or holes, that's where spoilage sets in."
At a farm house, Arlington Heights resident Carol Anagnostopoulos could be seen grinding the meat that would be stuffed into casings.
In another room, Barb Mitchell of Hoffman Estates covered a piece of pork loin that was sliced and pounded thin, then dipped it in an egg wash before smothering it in seasoned bread crumbs.
Mitchell said it is one of her favorite events, and she has taken part in it for 16 years. "People don't realize where their meat comes from," she said.
Usually, she said, they see it in the grocery store wrapped in cellophane. But, she said, "there is an actual animal.'
There is another reason she likes the event.
"All the volunteers get to have schnitzel," she said.
Nearby, the simmering schnitzel was being tended by Monique Inglot of Elk Grove Village, decked out in an 1880s housedress and apron.
The event has been taking place more than 15 years, but it is constantly being updated.
"We have been researching all the time, and we're constantly bringing in new things," said Patricia Green, program coordinator.
"This area has a large immigrant population, and in Europe, this is still fairly common, especially Eastern Europe," Kuester said. "A lot of people are bringing their kids here, to show them what it was like when they were kids."
For Schaumburg resident Evelyn Palacz, who grew up in Poland, it was a chance to rekindle memories. "My great-grandmother lived on a farm," she said, recalling feeding and petting the animals.
Hoffman Estates resident Chris Leisner also was among the visitors. "I guess the most impressive part is they don't waste anything," he said.